6 The Michigan Daily Friday, November 13,1992 Page 8 And Lemonheads taste great, too! The harsh ' by Scott Sterling No one can forget the unparal- leled bliss that can only occur during adolescence, no matter how fleeting those little moments may have been. Sitting in your bedroom, holding that crappy Realistic tape recorder (the one you saved up weeks worth of al- lowances to afford) up to one of the plastic speakers of your kiddie stereo, anxiously waiting to tape that one song off of WDRQ. That one song you couldn't get out of your head. Ihe song that seemed so damned important, the song that you lived for. Two and a half minutes of U Physical'Therapists Pharmacists Bioenvironmental Engineers Plan a future that soars. Take your science-related degree. into the Air Force, and become an officer in the Biomedical Sciences Corps. You'll learn more, you'll grow faster-you'll work with other dedi- cated professionals in a quality envi- ronment where your contributions are needed. In short, you'll gain more of every- thing that matters most to you. You and the Air Force. Launch now-call USAF HEALTH PROFESSIONS TOLL FREE 1-800-423-USAF " pure pop bliss. "It's A Shune About Ray," the Lemonheads latest record, definitely hasn't forgotten those feelings. Head lemon Evan lDando has squeezed them into 12 glorious songs of love, loss, friendships, boys, and girls - it's a catalog of those overwhelming teenage emotions that you were too awkward to express anywhere but in secret journals and tattered diaries. From their now-classic debut single, "Laughing All The Way To The Cleaners," Dando (accompanied by an ever-changing line-up of mu- sicians) has consistently turned out outrageously great guitar pop songs. It would seem that, like Prince, he has a vault full of them that he can toss out at will. "I actually don't write that many songs," Dando said from a friend's house in Boston. "That's why I do so many covers (like his brilliant ver- sion of Suzanne Vega's "Luka"). I don't wanna put out songs that I don't like. Not that I write extra' sonygs ever, but I try not to force songs. I just let them happen. There's always some guitar progres- sion hanging around that sounds cool, and then I think about what I want to write about. Usually just things from everyday life." What also makes Lemnonheads songs s charming is the fact that they're so short and sweet. "It's A Shame About Ray" tears through its 12 songs in under half an hour. "A lot of people say it's too short, but I never thought that. They seem like full songs to me. Why go on longer than a song should be'? It was fun to try and cross out every other line, not to say too much or be too ambitious, and not to flower it up with anything," recalled Dando. I-Ie wrote all of the songs during a six-week solo acoustic tour last year in Australia, opening for Fugazi. "It was really fun. It was a funny mix. Me playing acoustic, and then Fugazi would come out. It was a good way to set them up, I think. We'd just been down there (as the Lemonheads), and our tour had went pretty well, people were hip to it." After he returned from the land of Oz, Dando (with drummer David Ryan and former roommate Juliana Hatfield on bass) set up shop in Los Angeles to record. And while he's happy with the results, the next one will have a decidedly different vibe. "I think I wanna make it less slick. We wanted to try making a to- gether sounding album for once. It was fun to make a really polished album, but I think on the next one I'd like to let loose a little more," related Danudo. With this being his second major- label album, it seems that Atlantic Records is ready to cash i2I on the Lemonheads potentially huge power pop. To coincide with the upcoming release of cinema classic "The Grad- uate," on video, the company chose dr egam by Megan Abbott 6 Dando reality of the American Dando and company to cover Simon and Garfunmikel's "Mrs. Robinson," which has beei added to the latest pressing of the album. And the fact that Dando has be- come the underground pop sex sym- bol only adds to his box-office ap- peal. He's swooned over in the pages of Sassy magazine on a regu- lar basis, and very nearly could have replaced Vanilla Ice as an object of Madonna's affections in her coffee table (s)expose. "The Madonna thing," cackled Dando. "Her photographer, Steven Meisel, saw a picture of me, and he had some idea to do pictures of me with her. I don't know, but some- thing happened and it didn't go through. But the thought was enter- taining, though." THE LEMONHEADS per form at .St. Andrew 's Hall in Detroit tomorrow night with SOUL ASYLUM and WALT MINK. Tickets are $9.50 (p.e.s.c.) in: advance. Doors open at 9 p.m. 18 and over. ,C Many consider Robert Altman the foremost American director of the 1970s. It now appears that, after a dismal ten years of unsuccessful work like "Popeye," Robert Altman has returned to a state of filmic grace with the scathing satire, "The Play- er." Now, thenl, seems a perfect time to return to one of Altman's earlie triumphs, the 1971 revisionist west' erni, "McCabe and Mrs. Miller." "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," a very loose adaptation of the Edmund' Naughton novel, tells the story ol John McCabe (Warren Beatty), i I. CAMPUS CINEMA ', ? I J M Nail-biting,tear-jerking'70s suspense The University of Michigan Men's Glee Club 133rd Annual Fall Concert November 14, 1992 - 8:00 PM Hill Auditorium also appearing: Th e Friars tickets - $10, $8, $5, $3 (student) For more infor mation or to order tickets call 764-1448 or charge by phone by calling th Michigan Union Ticket Office at 763-TkTS by Sarah Weidman If you've been waiting for a movie with tear-jerking drama, fine acting and a lot of nail-biting sus- pense, you've waited too long. It all happened in "The China Syndrome" back in '79. "The China Syndrome" is the story of Kimberly Wells (Jane Fonda), a TV reporter who uncovers a nuclear meltdown cover-up at the The China Syndrome Directed by James Bridges; with Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmnon ad Michael Douglas Ventana Nuclear Power Plant in Los Angeles. Wells is KXLA's features reporter, ready to move on from stories involving tigers' birthdays, migrating whales, and singing tele- grams. Call it fate when her series on the nuclear plant leads her into hard news reporting. Michael Douglas is Wells' loyal photographer - a feisty freelancer convinced it is his responsibility to inform the public of the nuclear ac- cident, regardless of the legalities. I-Ie and Wells go head to head tying to get their story on the air. Jack Lemnmon as Jack Godell is a dedicated shift supervisor at the plant who is torn between his con- science and his commitment to conI- fidentiality. His work at the plant is his passion. Lemmon creates a des- perate old man caught in the middle of a bureaucracy beyond his control. Three renowned actors, three wonderful characters. Each role has a strong personality - driven, strong-willed, and intensely dedi- cated to his or her career. Yet despite the defined differences in occupa- tions and interests, the characters blend to create a realistic and excit- ing balance. The movie was made over a decade ago, but the subplot is still relevant. Wells is an attractive re- porter forced to prove her talent for hard news reportin in a sexist me- dia enviro}lnent. Shle is stuck in thle fluff department of news and can't move onto permanent press. "The China Syndrome" addresses common conflicts between the me- dia world and its yearn to expose. Ethical reporting comes into play, as it does everyday in the news world. Who wins this battle for informa- tion? I'm not at liberty to say. THE CHINA SYNDROME is show- ing ton ight and tomorroiv at 7 p.n. in Angell Hall Aud. A Tickets are $3. M e McCabe & Mrs. Miller Diiected by Robert Altman with Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Shelley 1 Duvall, and Michael Murphy gambler and would-be entrepreneur who happens upon a small minin, settlement in the Pacific Northwes It is 1902, anid there is no true fron- tier left, but McCabe is determined to act out the role of explorer-capi . talist. -c brings three prostitutes from another town and sets out to establish a three-tent whorehouse next to the settlement saloon. McCabe aspires to be the rugged individualist of popufar Westermi leg- end. But, unlike the movie Wester ideal, McCabe is actually a man of minor ambition and a fondness for drink and cards. It is not until Coni stance Miller (Julie Christie), a- shrewd prostitute, arrives that Mc-. Cabe begins to think "big." Altman is rewriting history herel Granted, "McCabe amid Mrs. Miller'" is partly about the old theme of indi- vidual versus corporate society. Bufw it also rejects anty romnatie ideal of4 the West as a new Eden. After al McCabe is not the ew sheriff or tz new leader or the new toral foet I-le is a bumbling capitalist out ti make a fetw quick bucks. But McCabe is a dreamer of th most bittersweet kind. He does have a vision (though he can't quite are ticulate it), but in Altman's pictur of the American West that visio must face the brutal realities of a vast national corporate society whicli is just beginning to take hold at th turn of the century. In this way, "McCabe and Mr Miller" is deeply involved in a bleaw myth-dissection of the failed Ameri can Dream. Beatty typifies M Cabe's pathetic charm and epi failure with a depth he rarely in yokes. Ad-fibbing much of the dia. Log ue, he says at one point, "We I'll tell ya sonethin'. I!got poetry i' me. I do." After watching his relent- less struggle, we find ourselves b lieving him. Moreover, te prenni ally great Julie Christie provides & startlingly unsentimental portrait Mrs. Miller -- a woman too prag matic and wounded by life to fall f McCabe's efforts at old-style court ing. But, like most Altman films, yo have to work while watching "McCabe aid Mrs. Miller." The dia- logue overlaps, scenes last forever, and seemingly significant details take center stage only to disappear for the rest of the film. In fact, Alt- man gives us no standard heroes, no epiphanies, no retribution, and no closure. But he does give us a very effective and distinctly American work which exposes the harsh reality behind the Dream, while finally praising the dreamers themselves. MCCABE AND MRS MILLER p/avys Sunday at 7 p.. in the NaIt Sci A"ditoriu^. Adssion isfre. U Is . __ _-. Presented by Leader Marketing We Blow Away Everyone's Price n Stereos & Electronics! THE NOVI EXPO CENTER November 13 - 15; Friday - Sunday Friday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. -8 p.m. If you can't make it to the Expo Center call our Mail Order Department at 1-800-877-DEAL for a FREE CATALOG. Save up to 8% On Brand Names Like Pioneer* JBL Pyle* Kenwood * Alpine *Sony *Alwa * MTX * Sherwood * * Pyramid* * Blaupunkt* * Yamaha * CH t NA GARDEN Restaurant Szechuan, Hunan, & Peking Cuisine Now Open! 15% OFF Special Dinner and Carryout Menu Reservations 971-0970 3035 Washtenaw, Ann Arbor Open Mon.-Thur. 11:30-10, Fri. 11:30-11, Sat. Noon-11, Sun. Noon-10 I Free Parking! 44 Choose from the Largest Selection in America! 1"" .. n $3 Admission Charge Satisfactionl C'hildren under 12 and Adults over 65 FREE Guarnteed 4 U Upcoming films from: L __ 'a Nov. 13 & 14, Aud A, $3 single/$5 double 7:00 pm The China Syndrome r_ __--___--_--- ---_t, I " --- - PRESENTS. 1 MUSIC INSPIRED BY THE JACKSONS: AN AMERICAN DREAM FEATURING WHO S LOVIN YOU lO VE' " 'N THE ISTIIlL OF THE NIGHT " STAY ',I TH tI 'E A (V.1 Ilt ME fEROM IRE F:JACKSCWN :.'J ' AMERICAN REAMJ Catch the TV mini-series about the Jackson 5 NovemberI5&18on ABC. The soundtrack contains the hot new single by Boyz II Men, "In The Still Of The Night" I On sale thru 11/21/92 cD $11.99 with a copy of this ad cassette $7.99 1 1 I Starring Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, and Michael Douglas. A TV news reporter (Fonda) and a cameraman (Douglas). stumble upon a cover-up at a nuclear power plant. Gripping suspense. 9-15 nm - Until the End of the World. 1 MAYNARD i PARTY STORE 326 Maynard. 995-1888